Yeah, I figured that was the case. A lot of people complained about "loose ends" even though, well, you know. and about the meandering plot. But that's why I loved it! Too many revenge or gangster movies are on a single track. It was nice to see his complicated life. Of course, it also helps if you know how awful the British paparazzi, tabloids, and teenage hoods are compared to ours.

Ray Bradbury's 'The Martian Chronicles' to Be Made Into Film By Paramount

Paramount is heading to Mars.

The studio has picked up movie rights to The Martian Chronicles, the classic short story collection by Ray Bradbury, one of the foremost names in 20th century science-fiction literature.

John Davis will produce the adaptation of the book of short stories that Bradbury wrote in the late 1940s about humans trying colonize Mars.

In three structures, the stories dealt with attempts to settle Mars and the Martians’ efforts to fight the humans off, the colonization of the red planet and a nuclear war that eventually forces most of the humans to return to Earth. In the aftermath of the war, humans become the new Martians.

A TV miniseries was made in 1980 by NBC and the BBC that was written by Richard Matheson and saw Rock Hudson leading the cast.Universal acquired the feature rights in 1997, where Steven Spielberg and Davis, among other producers, tried to get a project off the ground. Michael Tolkin and John Orloff were some of the writers who worked on a script, which focused on a commander investigating two missing space missions on Mars.

The option reverted earlier this year and Paramount has now stepped up.

No writer is on board the new Martian Chronicles.

Davis, via his Davis Entertainment banner, last year produced Gulliver’s Travels, Marmaduke and Predator.

Another one that will be almost impossible to adapt. Thought Davis' previous three films makes me wary.

The 80's miniseries is terrific! As are the Ray Bradbury Theater adaptations.

They are all slow and talky and moody, of course. Reflections on the Humanity of Man (and Martian). But, god, do I love the Rock Hudson series. They managed to capture the eeriness of the book. Especially those first few failed missions. Beautifully done. The miniseries is six hours, I think, and after that initial exploration thing, it sort of becomes a series of vignettes, capped off by the PA visit to the ruined Earth.

RB Theater just did the best chapters -- each of the first missions. It was kind of cool to see them do it that way -- with Bradbury writing the teleplay -- and give each one 50 minutes. It's one of those rare moments where the story on screen follows the book almost to the letter.

When James Bond orders his next martini "shaken, not stirred," perhaps he'll also request a specific brand of gin. The Sunday Times reports that in the next James Bond movie — already long-delayed owing to MGM's money problems — a full third of the budget will be raised via onscreen product placement. For the bean counters at home, that's $45 million, the biggest product-placement bonanza ever.

When James Bond orders his next martini "shaken, not stirred," perhaps he'll also request a specific brand of gin. The Sunday Times reports that in the next James Bond movie — already long-delayed owing to MGM's money problems — a full third of the budget will be raised via onscreen product placement. For the bean counters at home, that's $45 million, the biggest product-placement bonanza ever.

He has already requested "Gordon's" in the Casino Royale re-make with Daniel Craig.

Logged

There will come a day for every man when he will relish the prospect of eating his own shit. That day has yet to come for me.

You know, Ellen Page confuses me. She spent most of her time in that horrible Super movie in tight clothes and underwear, and there's this weird rape scene (where she rapes Rainn Wilson).

Now, I figured that I would be attracted to Ellen Page when she finally did a movie where she didn't play some asexual Canadian mouse. Because she's the perfect nerd girl, right? And sexy nerd girl is definitely what they try to do in Super. But I was physically and emotionally repulsed by her entire performance and am carrying with me -- days later -- this bizarre guilt about watching the rape scene. Though you see nothing, it was more awkward and horrifying that the brutal Monica Belluci rape scene in that horrible French movie. I've never been able to stomach that scene or finish it... And this carried the same sort of feeling. Or maybe like accidentally tuning into kiddie porn... There was some of that, too.

It's not that I see Ellen Page as a child, or untouchable, or anything like that. It's just... I don't know. It's icky. It's a combination of feeling like Super is somehow beneath her, and a rape scene is something she should never do, and getting flashes of every intolerably crazy girl I've known all in one intense 90 minute bundle. Which ends with her getting her head blown off.

There's also something inherently chinless and disgusting about Rainn Wilson.

I'm really, really bothered by Super on many, many levels and I'm very, very sorry that I watched it.

Hanna started out amazing, and the girl they got to play her is mesmerizing... But then it completely falls apart. The movie is completely ruined between the third act and Cate Blanchett's oddly poor performance.

Most of the "eight things you didn't know about Raiders of the Lost Ark" post today at one of my many blogs really tells us how motherfucking creepy Spielberg and Lucas are in real life:

Quote

When everyone else was struck with dysentery on the Tunisia set, Spielberg was the only one who didn't get sick, thanks to the fact that he avoided the local cuisine and ate only canned SpaghettiOs.

Although it sounds like movie legend, Raiders was born as Lucas and Spielberg built sand castles on the beach in Hawaii, where both were vacationing as Star Wars opened. Spielberg wanted to make a James Bond film, but Lucas told him he had a better idea: something called Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In the novelization, it's revealed that Marion was only 14 when Indy first romanced her, lending a creepy truth to her line "I was a child. It was wrong!"

The canyon where Indy threatens to blow up the ark is the same one where the Jawas take R2-D2 in Star Wars.

The scene in which the monkey executes a "Heil Hitler" salute took 50 takes. A grape was attached to a fishing line and held just out of reach of the camera shot to get him to "salute."

The set of the Well of Souls: Also used as the hotel room set where Jack Nicholson does all his writing in The Shining.

Sallah's name means "sprout," which is probably due to the much shorter Danny DeVito being offered the role first instead of John Rhys-Davies.

Our hero's original name? Indiana Smith. It was changed on the first day of production when Steven Spielberg told Lucas it just didn't sound right and suggested "Jones" instead.